Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure relates generally to processors and more particularly to information security at a processor.
Description of the Related Art
In many processor applications, protection of information security is an important feature. For example, a processor can be used in a server in an Infrastructure As A Service (IAAS) environment, wherein the processor executes one or more virtual machines (VMs) and executes a hypervisor to partition the server hardware among the VMs and isolate the VMs from each other. Because different VMs may be executed on behalf of different customers, it is desirable that the information (instructions and data) employed by each VM be protected from access by other VMs. Conventionally, the hypervisor maintains isolation of VM information by maintaining separate memory page tables and other logical entities for each VM. However, flaws (e.g. bugs) in the hypervisor can cause the hypervisor itself to be vulnerable to exploitation, allowing one VM to access the information of another VM. Even in more private security environments, such as a personal computer, data stored in memory modules can be subject to theft, and the data stored therein subject to unauthorized access.